Chapter 272:118. Mysterious Linkage_2

Translator: 549690339

“The effects of ‘Breath of the Dead’ seem to have erased my senses of touch, smell, and pain. The stench from the aberrations is a little weaker now, and even the feedback from hitting the wall with my fist is much fainter than before.”

Noland Lee took out his dagger, removed his glove, and lightly scratched the tip of his finger.

Looking at the small cut oozing blood, Noland realized that ‘Breath of the Dead’ was more useful than he had initially thought!

His sense of pain was now reduced to about 50% of what it had been before.

Noland accessed the magic panel, investing 100 Energy Points into ‘Breath of the Dead,’ raising it to Level 5.

He cut the tip of his finger again, and the pain was significantly weakened, only about 10% of what it would usually be.

This would undoubtedly help him overcome the pain and stay focused during combat.

Noland applied some medical ointment to his fingertip, put his glove back on and held the dagger.

He cut through the mucus web and quickly walked through the corridors, following the map in his mind.

It wasn’t long before he found the staircase to the next level and descended into the even darker and more oppressive fifth underground level.

The aberrations paid him no mind, treating him as if he were a walking corpse. Even if they were face-to-face, the aberrations wouldn’t give him a second glance.

Noland activated ‘Tracking the Living,’ doing his best to avoid the elite aberrations.

The Seeder was one of the most common elite monsters.

It was Level 15 and could be considered as a gaming monster with an elite template. Its strength was higher than a civilian first-order Alchemist but lower than Tatis’ first-order ‘Imperial Fist.’

It had eight legs, and it moved about just like a turtle. Its back was covered in hanging tentacles on a fleshy mushroom and specialized in using tentacles and venom to attack.

Its tentacles were fast-growing and as tough as a snake’s body, capable of instantly severing a human’s thigh. The barbs on the tentacles hardened, resembling the needles of an injector, capable of easily piercing through a first-order Alchemist’s Alchemy Weaponry and injecting venom into the target.

The Burrower was a Level 16 aberration elite monster.

It looked similar to a giant python, drilling through the wall structure to create a tunnel made of mucus mat.

Usually, it would lurk within the walls, emerging from holes on the wall surfaces to spray corrosive venom when an enemy was detected. To kill them, one had to find their hidden heart within the wall, making them very difficult to deal with.

Devourers were Level 18 aberration elite monsters.

They had four limbs, two powerful hind legs, and a fleshy tail, resembling velociraptors with a body length of more than five meters. Their attacks consisted of spitting mucus bullets and using their extending neck and limbs to attack enemies. The horn on their head was extremely sharp, easily piercing through a first-order alchemy armor defense. They were agile and ferocious.

Seeders, Burrowers, and Devourers were the most common elite aberration monsters Noland encountered along the way.

With ‘Breath of the Dead’ activated, he was as good as entering “stealth mode” in the eyes of the aberrations.

The aberration elite monsters were like patrolling monsters with a “Piercing Disguise” effect.

Noland traversed through the corridors, gradually finding that familiar feeling of sneaking around Mount Kigate, playing as a thief, and utilizing the “Stealth” skill to open treasure chests in instances like Steamvault and Lower Blackrock Spire…

There were the same sneaking techniques and the same need to avoid aberrations with “anti-stealth” effects.

“Phew, finally reached the 10th underground level.” Noland stopped in the murky air of the walkway.

He looked around. It was dark, tilled with aberration mucus, and the slippery sound from aberrations walking around filled the air.

The Demon Rat Nest was located on the underground levels 11 through 15 in Sector 8, with the entrance being on the 10th underground level of Sector 8.

Noland was currently located on the 10th underground level of Sector 7.

Since there wasn’t much of interest to explore in Sector 7’s Sage Space, the area was desolate, with only Black City alchemists with ill intentions lurking about.

Noland silently moved through the corridors of the 10th underground level and soon found the metal gate leading to Sector 8.

He scraped the mucus off the latch, unlocked the mechanical lock, grabbed the handle, and slowly opened the heavy gate.

Faint light passed through the door from the corridor behind it, filtering into Noland’s eyes.

Noland squinted and looked towards the source of the light.

It was an alchemy lamp hanging on the walls of the corridor, with energy infused in its storage array.

Unlike the area he was currently in, the 10th underground level in Sector 8 was well-lit. Aside from bloodstains and dried mucus on the ground, there were no signs of aberrations.

The Cat Society had cleared the 10th underground level of Sector 8 of any aberrations, assigning people for long-term guarding duty in order to eliminate distractions and focus on hunting Demon Rats.

After the Blackbone Hermit drove away the members of the Cat Society, they occupied the area.

They kept things the way they were, not bringing any aberrations into the area.

This meant that their goal was to exploit the alchemy resources in the Demon Rat Nest, not simply target the Cat Society. They didn’t spread aberrations in the area because they would have hindered the collection of resources by the Blackbone Hermit.

These were Noland’s speculations.

He found some evidence to support his own judgment. For example, the alchemy beetle hanging on the wall..